There has been a lot of news recently about the lack of talent available to employers. The ManpowerGroup just published their 2016 Talent Shortgage Survey where, as a region, Asia Pacific reported the greatest degree of hiring difficulties, particularly in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. A new report has revealed that Asia’s emerging economies face severe skill shortages. In the near future, countries will encounter a shortage of skilled labour due to less-than-adequate skills-based education and changing workforce demographics.
The report ranked 12 economies in Asia on a scale of 1 to 7 to indicate the level of skills challenges they face. Malaysia ranks highest among the emerging economies, with a 5, while Singapore and Hong Kong top the overall list with a 6.2 and 5.6, respectively.
Although advanced economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong, South-Korea, and Japan score relatively high when it comes to education levels, they in turn will be impacted by a decrease in labour supply due to a decline in working age population, leaving them with a potential skill shortage as well.
/Passle/56686a093d94740bd0dda608/SearchServiceImages/2025-12-08-16-11-20-000-6936f8a85b578955555c3791.jpg)
/Passle/56686a093d94740bd0dda608/SearchServiceImages/2025-12-08-22-09-59-814-69374cb72b43241fe15eb028.jpg)
/Passle/56686a093d94740bd0dda608/SearchServiceImages/2025-12-08-13-50-30-803-6936d7a65b578955555b84d9.jpg)